Tag Archives: Westchester County

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

Yes, it is turkey day and I probably should have found some interesting Thanksgiving related dish to write about today. Something like this or this. But last week I had the pleasure to attend Holiday Spirits and I wanted to write about it before next Thanksgiving. Also, the spirit I chose will easily fit in on the Thanksgiving dinner table.

This is exactly how I wanted it to work out! I had been holding off on reviewing Alphabet City Brewing’s flagship beer until I could find it at the similarly named Alphabet City Beer Co. And when I stopped in early on a Friday evening, it all went according to plan. (more…)

I’ve been wanting to visit The Ginger Man for almost a decade now. I even tried to plan my 25th birthday there, but it didn’t work out for some reason I can’t remember (must be old age). I think I may have always been intimidated by the after work crowds and never ventured to this part of Midtown in the evening. Well, this is one of the reasons I started this blog – so I could hit those classic venues that I’m too lazy to do otherwise.

The Ginger Man is famous for its huge craft beer selection on tap (70 tap lines!?!) and notorious for its jam packed Happy Hour crowd (even though the place offers no discounts). I arrived around 4:30, just in time to find a table before the suits started descending. The place was still crowded, loud, and dark. I liked the rustic old farmhouse feel, but would have liked a bit more peace and mellowness. No such luck.

Anybody who’s met me knows I’m not the biggest guy in the world and that when it comes to drinking, I can have maybe three beers before landing on my rear end. So half pints are perfect for me. They enable me to taste more beer (without getting sick) and their diminutive stature parallel my own.

The Gibson is a laid-back very darkly lit bar at the end of the main drag of Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. From the outside, it looks more like a place you would go to sip a gibson rather than down a beer. The clientele seems a little older and more mature than the baby faced hipsters at some establishments down the street. But they must still be younger than me since they didn’t need one of those mini-flashlights to read the menu in this very dark establishment. I practically did.

When I go out to review anything – a beer or a corned beef sandwich – I sort of like to be left alone. I have photos to snap, notes to write, and ideas to digest. I try to be as discreet as possible because I don’t really want to get into a conversation with the bartender or other customers about why I’m doing what I’m doing. But it’s sometimes inevitable. I certainly don’t want to be rude and never want to miss an opportunity to hand out one of my Eat This business cards.

If I had come to Blind Tiger Ale House earlier in the day, I probably could have found a quiet corner to just do my thing. But I came before my dinner plans at around 6:00 – right smack in the middle of Happy Hour. Surprisingly, the bar wasn’t too crowded when I arrived. This West Village craft beer mecca is notoriously jam packed all night long. I was able to slip up to the bar and order a Captain Lawrence Liquid Gold without too much crowd wrangling. However, when I was ready to leave, I had to fight my way out the door.

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